Former Chelsea favourite winning applause of new manager

An all-time great of Stamford Bridge is attracting managerial plaudits at Galatasaray.

Roberto Mancini is just one match into his Galatasaray tenure but the former Manchester City manager has already sung the praises of former Chelsea favourite Didier Drogba, 35, the powerful Ivorian veteran who is rejuvenating his career in Turkey thanks to five goals and one assist in all competitions so far this season.

One of those strikes arrived on Wednesday evening's dramatic 2-2 tie with the Old Lady of Serie A; Juventus. It was ex Stamford Bridge hitman Drogba, fourth on the list of the Blues' all-time top goalscorers thanks to a return of 157 in eight glorious seasons, who opened the club's account, however, that lead was offset, then overuled, by a contentious Arturo Vidal penalty followed by a Fabio Quagliarella header in the game's final quarter.

While Umut Bulut ensured parity was restored in the final minutes, it was Drogba who earned the most respect from Mancini post-match: 'Drogba was incredible and in all honesty I didn’t expect him to play like this,' the Italian is quoted to have said by Sky Sport Italia.

'He was extraordinary,' he added. 'I couldn’t do much in two days, so I have so far tried to learn the names of the players and bring a little organisation in.'

Galatasaray currently prop up the rest of Group B as the draw provided them with their first point in the Champions League competition. Real Madrid top Group B with six points, while Juventus have returned two and FC Copenhagen, like Gala, just one after two match-days.